LA Palisades firebug accused named as Jonathan Rinderknecht
Nine months after the most destructive wildfire in Los Angeles history that killed 12 people and caused $228bn in damage, a suspect has finally been charged.
A 29-year-old Uber driver obsessed with dystopian imagery, “despair and bitterness” is charged with “maliciously” sparking the Palisades Fire, nine months after the most destructive wildfire in Los Angeles history erupted.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, is accused of setting a brush fire on January 1 that was put out, but then smouldered unnoticed for days before leaping back to life and igniting the raging Palisades inferno, which left 12 people dead and caused about $228 billion in damages.
The blaze, which was initially put out by fire crews, eventually reignited and went on to burn down much of the Pacific Palisades a week later – devastating more than 6000 homes and buildings in the wealthy coastal enclave.
Rinderknecht, who lived in the area at some point, allegedly ignited the flames near a popular hiking trail in the hillside of a state park overlooking the neighbourhood at about 12.12am.
He then fled the scene and called 911 to report the blaze, authorities said.
After dropping the Uber passengers, Rinderknecht allegedly drove the hiking trail, filmed the scene on his phone and listened to a rap song by French artist Josman, whose music video features him setting things on fire, the criminal complaint states.
Rinderknecht had watched the same music video repeatedly in the days leading up to the fire, according to court papers.
And months before the blaze, in July, Rinderknecht had ChatGPT-generated a grim “dystopian” image of a burning city, according to the criminal complaint.
In the ChatGPT prompt, he requested: “A dystopian painting divided into distinct parts that blend together seamlessly. On the far left, there is a burning forest. Next to it, a crowd of people is running away from the fire, leading to the middle,” the complaint said.
The Palisades Fire erupted around the same time as the Eaton Fire, which killed 19 people, but authorities haven’t yet disclosed a cause for that inferno.
Both fires crippled the region for weeks – reducing entire neighbourhoods to ash.
Rinderknecht was interviewed by investigators shortly after the blaze but allegedly lied to investigators at the time.
He was finally arrested in Florida on Tuesday and will now be transferred back to California to stand trial.
The finding that the Palisades Fire was intentionally set could allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty.
Federal arson charges already carry harsh mandatory minimum sentences that range from five to 20 years, but are even stricter if it leads to injury or death.
This story was originally published in The New York Post.
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Originally published as LA Palisades firebug accused named as Jonathan Rinderknecht
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